HarperCollins U.S. to try new publishing model
In a move that should have people talking at the upcoming London Book Fair, HarperCollins U.S. has announced plans to launch a new-style publishing program. The man in charge is publishing veteran Robert S. Miller, who is credited for building Disney’s Hyperion publishing program.
According to a press release from HarperCollins:
As President and Publisher of the yet-to-be-named entity, Miller will publish approximately 25 popular-priced books per year in multiple physical and digital formats including those as yet unspecified, with the aim to combine the best practices of trade publishing while taking full advantage of the internet for sales, marketing and distribution. Authors will be compensated through a profit sharing model as opposed to a traditional royalty, and books will be promoted utilizing on-line publicity, advertising and marketing.
The references to leveraging the web sound like the usual breathless PR-speak, but compensating authors through a profit-sharing model does indeed sound like something new and notable. Who knows what it’ll mean for the authors in practice, but it’ll probably be an experiment worth watching.
Meanwhile, The New York Times has posted an article examining HarperCollins’ plans, in which it reports that Miller also aims to reduce (or altogether eliminate) costly returns. The article doesn’t make clear how he plans to do this, except to say that:
The new group will also release electronic books and digital audio editions of all its titles, said Jane Friedman, president and chief executive of HarperCollins, a unit of the News Corporation.
“At this moment of real volatility in the book business, when we are all recognizing things that are difficult to contend with, like growing advances and returns and that people are reading more online, we want to give them information in any format that they want.”
“Profit sharing” sounds suspiciously like a model a former employer of mine (fitness club) used to use during the slow seasons (Dec. and summer), when attendance would drop. It always resulted in smaller pay cheques. On the other hand, the huge advances being paid out to “hot” authors these days really aren’t helpful to anyone.
“HarperCollins Publishers says it will launch a new book imprint that won’t accept returns from retailers and will pay little or no advances to authors.”
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120723631543086595-lMyQjAxMDI4MDA3MzIwMzM2Wj.html
So let me get this straight. Big Publishing will keep putting megabucks in the pockets of the Big Paper industry by bleeding the writers and small booksellers?
And let’s get real about those big advances. Check out the writer’s union of Canada membership. It’s not a millionaire’s club. You’ll find more of them at the food bank. All while the salaried editors and marketing people lose our invoices (just before heading off for vacation - I cannot count the number of out of office replies that arrive when they’re supposed to meet OUR deadlines for payment) …
The publishing industry now is just a bunch of rich kid marketing graduates and grad school drop outs. They have no truly innovative ideas their golf-club parents haven’t already tried.